Carbonatix Pre-Player Loader

Audio By Carbonatix

Bryce Russell

MJ Lenderman has been one of the busiest musicians of the last year. Since the release of his fourth studio album in September of last year, the 26-year-old indie rock darling has been constantly touring, along with recording new songs in the studio with artists like his previous band Wednesday and fellow alternative artist This Is Lorelei.

I was lucky enough to have seen Lenderman just 3 months ago at the beginning of July in Lexington’s small bar/venue, The Green Lantern, where Lenderman played to a tight room of around 150 people. This past Saturday, however, he played to a crowd of a couple thousand in the Murat Egyptian Room in Indianapolis’s Old National Centre.

Related

Opening the show was fellow indie rock musician Colin Miller, who not only performed his own music before the show but also drummed for MJ’s backing band, The Wind. Lenderman played the entirety of his acclaimed album Manning Fireworks, as well as older songs like “I Ate Too Much At the Fair” and “You Are Every Girl To Me,” blending a mix of Crazy Horse-style jamming with the droning experimentation of Sonic Youth and adding a touch of honky-tonk pedal steel guitar.

In a venue that dwarfs the one I saw him play at in March, Lenderman seemed just as comfortable and laid-back as he did then. Chatting with the crowd about his favorite topic other than music, basketball, and assuring us that he was rooting for the Pacers and not the OKC Thunder, and he wasn’t just saying that because he was in Indianapolis.

Related

Lenderman played for a solid two hours before launching into a three song encore that proved to energize the crowd more than anything else, with fan favorites like “Hangover Game,” “Knockin’,” and “It Tastes Just Like It Costs,” the latter of which was jammed out for so long you could definitely see the influences of Neil Young’s live recordings with Crazy Horse like Weld and Live Rust.

In all, I think Lenderman is one of the most entertaining rock performers active now, eliciting the cool, laid-back energy of rock artists of yesteryear while adding his own generation’s sense of humor and pouring his heart into lyrics only he seems to be able to write.

Related Stories

This article appears in Jun 6-19, 2025.

Do you have a news tip?

SEND A NEWS TIP

Subscribe to LEO Weekly Newsletters

Sign up. We hope you like us, but if you don't, you can unsubscribe by following the links in the email, or by dropping us a note at leo@leoweekly.com.

Signup

By clicking “subscribe” above, you consent to allow us to contact you via email, and store your information using our third-party Service Provider. To see more information about how your information is stored and privacy protected, visit our policies page.

Bryce Russell is LEO Weekly’s music intern. His musical interests cover everything, ranging genres from bluegrass to trap, and avant garde to Irish folk. He is currently studying English and Communication...